7.0 magnitude quake in Colombia: USGS

A POWERFUL seven-magnitude earthquake has rumbled across southern Colombia, injuring at least eight people and damaging more than 140 buildings.

The quake was felt as far away as Quito, Ecuador and Bogota, where buildings swayed under the force of the tremor.

Authorities said the tremor struck at a depth of 129 kilometres, 11 kilometres southwest of Pasto, Colombia, a city of 400,000 people that lies at the foot of the Galeras volcano.

Eight people were injured and a total of 143 buildings were damaged, with the destruction concentrated in 17 municipalities in southwestern Colombia, the national disaster risk management unit said via Twitter.

One of the wounded was a child who fell from the second floor of a building and broke a leg, he said.

In Cali, Colombia's third largest city, a clinic was evacuated. In the town of San Pedro, a church collapsed, apparently without causing any casualties.

Authorities said the quake struck at a depth of 129 kilometers at 1416 GMT, 11 kilometres southwest of Pasto, Colombia, a city of 400,000 people that lies at the foot of the Galeras volcano.

The US Geological Survey said the quake measured 7.0 on the moment magnitude scale. The Colombian Geological Service said the quake registered 6.9 on the Richter scale, revising an initial reading of 6.8.

"Fortunately there is no serious damage, apart from some damaged houses in a large part of the municipalities in the provinces of Cauca and Narino," Carlos Ivan Marquez, head of the national risk management unit told Caracol television.

The Colombian Geological Service said national crisis centres had been activated but added "there have been no effects for the moment."

"It's possible there won't be aftershocks because of the great depth at which the quake occurred," Jaime Raigosa, a seismologist at the Colombian Institute of Geology and Mining, told Blu Radio.

Bogota's mayor, Gustavo Petro, tweeted there were "no reports of injuries or damage." But he said some tall buildings were evacuated.

In Ecuador, firefighters also took to Twitter to urge residents of the capital Quito to remain calm and take necessary precautions.

Local media said a transformer exploded, knocking out power to the centre of the Ecuadoran city of Esmeralda, near the border with Colombia.

The quake was situated 199 kilometers northeast of Quito and 168 kilometres southwest of the Colombian city of Popayan, the USGS said.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre in Hawaii said the event did not generate a destructive tsunami.

"A destructive Pacific-wide tsunami is not expected, and there is no tsunami threat to Hawaii."